As Valentine’s Day quickly approaches, members of the CoHort group of Reiman Gardens were in full bloom Thursday with their “For the Love of Roses” program.

The program was led by featured speaker Marianne Klinsky, president of the Iowa Rose Society and garden guide at Reiman Gardens. Her part of the program examined how the flowers have touched people’s lives.

Klinsky’s past is steeped in a tradition rich with roses. Klinsky’s mother was going to give away all her roses unless Klinsky agreed to take them, which she did, and her affection for the flowers has continued to blossom over the years.

“My husband and I loaded up our backseat with roses,” Klinsky said. “[My mother] could never have given me anything better.”

Klinsky’s son and grandson worked with Mary and Ruby Buck, breeders at Reiman Gardens, to have a rose named after her mother. In the elder Klinsky’s honor, Reiman Gardens is currently proudly displaying the rose “Hermania.”

Klinsky knows just how much work tending to roses is — she’s got 225 at home, and she cares for many of Reiman Gardens’ roses, including the breed displaying her mother’s name.

“One of the reasons why I favor roses so much is they bloom early spring to late fall and will bloom many times,” she said. “While roses are a lot of work, they’re well worth it.”

The roses program was part of Reiman Gardens’ Brown Bag Lunch Seminar, which is held the first Thursday of every month from October to March. The programs attempt to educate participants on various topics related to gardening.

Two programs are held each year for which the committee provides lunch, said Chelon Stanzel, co-chairwoman of the educational committee of CoHort.

CoHort is an organization that provides support for Reiman Gardens through volunteering and fund raising, Stanzel said. There are different donor levels, ranging from $25 to $1,000, which represent about 500 to 600 people.

“CoHort puts on about 30 programs per year,” said Teresa McLaughlin, director of public relations and development at Reiman Gardens. “It is in its fifth year, starting in 1996.”